Perez’s late steal and score advances NC State to Elite 8

BRIDGEPORT, CT — NC State senior guard Raina Perez got a steal and layup in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter to lead the first-seeded and No. 3 ranked NC State Wolfpack pull off a stunning 66-63 comeback victory over fifth-seeded Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 in Total Mortgage Arena.

Perez came up with a steal and a layup while also nailing two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

Perez and the Wolfpack came into Saturday fresh off an 89-57 blowout victory over Kansas State on Monday following an 18 point performance from Kayla Jones. Notre Dame was also coming off a blowout victory as they beat Oklahoma by 44 on the same day.

The first half saw a trend of runs from both teams as NC State started off the first quarter strong. Elissa Cunane began working down low early as she put in a couple of buckets at the rim and converted at the free-throw line. The Two-Time First-team All-ACC forward led the way for the Wolfpack with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

With Cunane getting low post touches early, she forced Fighting Irish forward Maya Dodson into early foul trouble, putting Dodson on the bench for the majority of the first half. In the February 1 meeting between these two teams earlier in the season, Dodson led the way for Notre Dame with 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving the Wolfpack their third and final loss of the regular season.

However, in the second quarter, Notre Dame went on an 18-6 run while Dodson was on the bench and won the quarter 26-14. Notre Dame went into halftime with a 38-30 lead.

Fighting Irish guard Olivia Miles was red hot in the first half scoring 15 points and dishing off three assists. Miles made history last week as she became the first freshman — women’s or men’s — in NCAA Tournament history to record a triple-double.

Miles ended her tournament run with a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and six assists.

At the start of the second half, NC State focused more on Miles which slowed her down. In the meantime, Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld scored three quick buckets to start the third, extending their lead to as much as 10. Westbeld finished as the Fighting Irish’s second-leading scorer with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Both teams would trade buckets to close out the third and start the fourth as Notre Dame went into the fourth with a seven-point lead.

NC State guard Kai Crutchfield began to lock in on defense as the Raleigh native picked up three of her four steals to start the fourth, all resulting in points at the other end which trimmed their deficit to two. Crutchfield hit shot after shot in the second half which kept the Wolfpack in reach whenever it seemed they might let the Fighting Irish extend their lead.

The final five minutes of regulation became a nail-biter as NC State trailed by within 4 for the rest of the game. With 1:23 left, Crutchfield came down and missed a three-pointer in which Kayla Jones got the offensive board and laid the ball up to trim the deficit to two. Following a stop on the other end, Cunane was fouled and sent to the free-throw line with a chance to tie.

Cunane went 1-of-2 from the line which gave Notre Dame the ball back with a one-point lead. “Honestly I was calm at the line and I just left it short. I knew that we were going to have to get a stop and play defense,” Cunane said following the game. “After I missed it I told myself that it was behind me now and let’s get a steal on defense.”

The Wolfpack did exactly that in their final winning sequence from Raina Perez.

“(Mabrey) turned her back and the ball was still stuck on her hip so I went for the steal, got it and made the layup,” Perez told reporters after the game. “As for those free throws, we practice them every day in practice. We’re always in tough situations so I had to knock them down.”

NC State makes their second Elite 8 appearance in school history on Monday as they take on second-seeded UConn at 7 PM ET in Total Mortgage Arena on ESPN.